Freedom, time, and providence thread today’s readings together: Irenaeus defends authentic liberty—God created us able to choose, delayed perfection so we might mature, and sets before us light or darkness (Romans 2:4‑5; Psalm 82:6‑7). Augustine, gazing into the mystery of time, discovers a three‑fold “present” held in memory, attention, and expectation, all illumined by the eternal Now of God. Aquinas crowns the trio, showing how the same Lord who sustains every creature also directs every motion—immediately by preserving being, mediately through secondary causes—so nothing escapes His wise governance (Wisdom 11:21). Together they invite us to cherish freedom, live attentively in God’s present, and rest in a providence that empowers rather than overrides our choices. (Romans 2:4–5; Psalm 82:6–7; Wisdom 11:21)

Readings: Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapters 37 – 39 Augustine, The Confessions, Book 11, Chapters 19 – 20 (Sections 25 – 26) Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 103, Composite Articles 5 – 8

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